Cihai: Color Illustration Reduced Edition (Alphabetical Order) [Complete Five Volumes]

Author: Xia Zhengnong, et al / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-08-01
Features: This book includes 17,523 single-character entries, with 6,129 traditional characters and variant characters appended. The entries and the terms listed under them include both common words and encyclopedic terms, totaling over 105,400 entries. This is the first time since the publication of Ci Hai nearly 70 years ago that all the entries have been arranged in order of Pinyin. Ci Hai (Color Illustration and Pinyin Arrangement) has shifted from the traditional "radical arrangement" to an arrangement of all entries in Pinyin order, fully considering the search habits of contemporary readers. The Color Illustration and Pinyin Edition of Ci Hai features over 16,000 color illustrations, most of which are color photographs.
This book includes 17,523 single-character entries, with 6,129 traditional characters and variant characters appended. The entries and the terms listed under them include both common words and encyclopedic terms, totaling over 105,400 entries. Ci Hai (1999 Edition) was published as scheduled on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The two characters "Ci Hai" on the cover were handwritten by Comrade Jiang Zemin on December 7, 1998. Ci Hai is a comprehensive dictionary that combines character-based entries with the functions of a dictionary, a language dictionary, and an encyclopedic dictionary. It was first published in Shanghai by Zhonghua Book Company in 1936. In the autumn of 1957, Comrade Mao Zedong accepted the proposal of one of the chief editors of Ci Hai, Shu Xingcheng, to revise Ci Hai and assigned this task to Shanghai. At that time, Zhonghua Book Company had moved to Beijing, so in the spring of 1958, an independent editorial and publishing organization—the Ci Hai Editorial and Publishing Institute of Zhonghua Book Company (renamed Shanghai Ci Shu Press in 1978)—was established in Shanghai. In the summer of 1959, the Ci Hai Editorial Committee was established, with Shu Xingcheng and Chen Wangdao serving as its chief editors successively. In April 1965, Zhonghua Book Company published Ci Hai. After the end of the "Cultural Revolution," in December 1978, the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to restore and strengthen the Ci Hai Editorial Committee, with Xia Zhengnong appointed as its chief editor. After revision, the 1979 edition and the 1989 edition of Ci Hai were published by Shanghai Ci Shu Press on the 30th and 40th anniversaries of the founding of the People's Republic of China, respectively. These two editions of Ci Hai were available in three-volume, abridged, supplemented, and subject-specific editions. Among these, the three-volume and abridged editions have a cumulative circulation of over five million copies. In 1992, Shanghai Ci Shu Press collaborated with Donghua Book Company to publish the 1989 edition of Ci Hai in Taiwan. In 1993, Ci Hai won the highest award of the first National Book Award—the Honor Award. To celebrate the publication of the 1989 edition of Ci Hai, Comrade Jiang Zemin inscribed: "Promote the spirit of meticulousness, careful word selection, and rigorous work style of Ci Hai, and strive to improve the cultural quality of the Chinese nation."
The 1999 edition of Ci Hai presents a new look in both content and form. Compared to the 1989 edition, this edition is slightly larger in size, with numerous revisions to the entries, primarily to reflect changes in domestic and international situations and the development of cultural science and technology, to fill gaps, correct errors, and streamline a small number of terms and definitions. This edition also introduces a color illustration edition, featuring over 16,000 images, with a redesigned layout divided into four volumes, plus an appendix and an index volume. Additionally, the popular edition (three volumes) continues to be published, with abridged editions, subject-specific volumes, and CDs also available. Since 1957, the revision of Ci Hai has been supported by the three generations of leaders of the Communist Party of China and the sincere cooperation of the national academic community. All the editorial staff have adhered to the spirit of pragmatism, taken their responsibilities seriously, and strived for excellence. Through continuous revisions, Ci Hai has played its due role in the construction of China's material and spiritual civilization and will continue to make its contributions.